3+1: Behind The Napa Valley Icons 750 ml

2015 Vermillion Red Wine 
A winemaker cannot live by Cabernet alone, though one winemaker—Helen Keplinger—absolutely could, if that was her desire. Just look at this Napa Valley superstar’s stewardship of Grace Family Vineyards (California’s original cult Cabernet winery) along with past successes at Arrow & Branch, Bryant Family, Fort Ross and Kenzo Estate. In 2012, Keplinger was honored as Food & Wine Magazine’s “Winemaker of the Year” and just two years later, she landed on the cover of Wine Spectator. But the great press wasn’t just for her mastery of Bordeaux varieties; instead, the critical spotlight shined equally on Grenache and the other Rhône-centric wines. Keplinger’s 2015 Vermillion Red is a stunning example of what happens when a Cabernet-expert goes rogue-Rhône.

2014 Purlieu Le Pich Cabernet Sauvignon 
This is one of the most brilliant Cabernet buys of Wine Spectator’s “dream vintage” and one of our Wine Access client-favorites. Consider some of the Parker praise heaped on winemaker Julien Fayard’s Cabernets. In his 98-100 point review of Fayard’s 2016 Purlieu To Kalon Beckstoffer Vineyard, Parker gushed it “just has it all. It is really a wine to diagram and analyze over and over to see what true perfection really is.” And Fayard’s 2014 Le Pich—crafted by the same hands and sourced from many of the same stellar sites as Purlieu—was described by Parker as a “a sleeper of the vintage,” a “generous, and irresistible” Napa Cabernet. 

2016 Band of Vintners Consortium Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 
If we listed every accolade earned by the seven-man supergroup behind the 2016 Band of Vintners Consortium Cabernet, we’d have to write another 1,000 words before getting to the point. So, to the point: The charge is led by 100-point Parker winemaker Dan Petroski of Massican and Larkmead, Aubert de Villaine-trained winemaker Stéphane Vivier of Hyde de Villaine, and Master Sommelier and Harlan alumnus Jason Heller. In addition to off-the-charts skill and palates, the Band of Vintners has deep and sturdy Napa ties, which they used to score fruit from a historic vineyard whose wines regularly fetch $150 per bottle—  Napa Cabernet of this quality and of this pedigree at for anywhere less that is a steal.

2014 Halpin Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley
At a recent tasting, Halpin, the ultimate industry insider, was waiting for us before we arrived at the office. He had set out glassware and let us ogle over six unmarked bottles of inky-dark red wine as we strode in. Ry Richards was, the protege of Chappellet winemaker Phillip Titus, was there too. As we tasted and learned of what these two invested in—the absolutely impeccable fruit sources—we were impressed. We mistook his namesake $38 Rutherford Cab for one that costs $150. So, we doubled down and offered to take the entire first year’s harvest—every bottle of Halpin.

The inaugural 2014 Halpin Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley leverages 93% Cabernet grapes sourced from a site on the western side of Highway 29, a stone’s throw from vines that supply BV’s Georges de Latour Cabernet. The source winery’s own house Cab in the same vintage has racked up an impressive series of scores ranging from 95+ to 97 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, and Spectator’s former European bureau chief, James Suckling. Combining a splash of Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, and Merlot, aged 22 months in French oak, it shows opaque ruby, with lifted aromas of boysenberry fruit and baking spices, while the palate is layered with juicy red berry fruit and strawberry compote underscored by an earthy quality that evolves into a nice mineral through-line. Sturdy Rutherford tannins are chewy, revealing more earth, and graphite, before a segue to a black cherry finish, tinged with savory black olive notes. Just 500 cases were produced.

Click buy, then go read how Halpin got the Wine Access brass more sauced than we'd ever been before.